Monthly Archives: January 2009

The law is titled “An Act to Prohibit Restrictive Employment Covenants.” The bill would render unenforceable “any written or oral contract or agreement arising out of an employment relationship that prohibits, impairs, restrains, restricts, or places any condition on, a person’s ability to seek, engage in or accept any type of employment or independent contractor work, for any period of time after an employment relationship has ended.” Those who violate the act would be liable for attorney fees to employees who challenge such an agreement.

The bill is intended to promote competitiveness and attract entrepreneurs to Massachusetts. Perhaps, South Carolina looking to become more “pro-business” may consider following suit. Instead of providing expensive incentives to attract businesses to relocate, legislators could make South Carolina a sanctuary for entrepreneurs. Read more about the Massachusetts’ bill.

Recently, I joined a lawyer message board on LinkedIn called, Non-Compete Lawyers. It appears that many represent those seeking to enforce non-compete agreements. One message thread expressed the general view that non-competes were beneficial and should generally be enforced. This is my response, which contain my ideas about how non-compete law should evolve: